Metelli, name of a noble family at Rome, belonging to the plebeian gens Caecilia. The Metelli first came to prominence in the First Punic War and thereafter became one of the most distinguished of the Roman families, always supporting the optimate cause. Members include the following.
1. Lucius Caecilius Metellus, consul 251 BC, pontifex maximus 243, died 221. In 250 BC, during the First Punic War, he won a notable victory against the Carthaginians in Sicily, capturing many war-elephants, hitherto considered invincible. As a consequence the elephant was the symbol used on coin-issues of later members of the family. In 241 he rescued the Palladium when the temple of Vesta was on fire, and lost his sight as a result.
2. Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, consul in 109 BC at a critical time in the war against Jugurtha. His immediate success earned him his cognomen Numidicus, ‘of Numidia’, but he failed to bring the war to a conclusion and was superseded in 107 by his former subordinate C. Marius. In 100 he was the only senator not to swear to observe an agrarian law of Saturninus, and went into exile. His recall (probably in 98) was a victory for the senate. He died c.91.
